Red Shirt
by SabreDae
Summary: "Is- Is that my shirt?" Rick joins Beckett for dinner and makes a startling discovery. Detective Kate Beckett had stolen one of his shirts. Tumblr prompt. A series of mainly related oneshots.
1. Is That My Shirt?

**A/N: I saw this prompt on Tumblr, and thought it sounded fun so… here we are. It's set pretty much any time after Tick, Tick, Tick and Boom! in season 2. I hope you guys enjoy it. Let me know what you think!**

* * *

After knocking loudly, he rocked on the balls of his feet, hands thrust deep into his trouser pockets while he waited patiently for her to open the door. Open the door she did, but pay him attention she did not.

"Beckett?" he asks, stunned by her appearance. When she'd called him up and asked if he'd be interested in joining her for some Chinese takeaway since there'd been some kind of mistake with her order, explaining that she'd somehow managed to end up with a meal for two, he'd leapt at the chance to spend some more time with the woman who was steadily becoming his best friend. It wasn't often they managed to do things outside of work. After a full day, working either a case or filing paperwork, Kate Beckett always preferred to just head home and sink into a relaxing bath. Not that he would begrudge her that. Perhaps if he contributed more to paperwork, she'd repay him with a burger and shake at _Remy's_. But that would mean giving up playing around with the stuff on top of her desk and just generally annoying her by not helping. Aggravated Beckett was almost better than smiley, soft-talking Beckett.

"What, Castle?" Kate demanded, returning to the door in exasperation. Exasperation because instead of just walking into her new apartment and shutting the door behind him like she'd expected him to, he was still standing out in the hallway, staring at her.

"Is- Is that my shirt?"

He'd been wondering exactly what fate had befallen his red shirt ever since she'd bought her new apartment. With the damage from Dunn's bomb, her old place was hardly habitable. Threat hanging over her, he'd of course welcomed her into his home with open arms and assured her she could stay as long as she wanted. But in the middle of the night, they'd hardly been able to go and buy her any replacement clothes. All she had was the spare clothes she kept in a locker at the precinct. Lending her a pair of joggers she could tie around her slim waist and a baggy t-shirt was no trouble at the time, and he didn't even notice their disappearance until long after she'd moved out. If he hadn't decided that his fitness level was low enough that he could no longer keep up with Beckett and the boys while chasing a suspect, he probably would never have discovered that his shirt was missing.

As it was, he just assumed he must have mislaid it. Certainly the last time he remembered seeing it had been when it was covering up his favourite detective's body before and after bed the first night she stayed with them, but he would never have guessed she would steal his clothes. He was sure she must have already washed and returned it.

Glancing down, Beckett flushed. "Right, sorry, it is. I completely forgot about returning it to you after I moved out."

"It's no trouble," he replied, the polite response ingrained into him after so many reprimands from his mother when he was an unruly child running around the theatre and barging into people's dressing rooms. He smiled, finally stepping into her apartment and shutting the door behind him before watching her busy herself in the kitchen, pulling cardboard containers out of a paper bag and opening them up to dish up their contents onto two plates. Although it was just takeout, it still reminded him of the morning he'd woken up to find she'd cooked him breakfast.

"You remember where the cutlery is, Castle?" she asked, startling him out of the happy memory.

He nodded, rushing into the kitchen to grab two forks from one of the drawers while she carried the two plates to the table. While he sat down, she wandered back into the kitchen, her bare feet pattering against the floor tiles while she reached into a cupboard for wine glasses before offering him the choice of red or white.

"Whatever you're having," he replied diplomatically, leaving his cutlery sat beside his plate and his food untouched, waiting for her before he began eating.

"Here," she said, setting a glass of red Bordeaux on the coaster beside his plate. As soon as she had taken her own seat, she took a sip of wine and smiled at him. "Thanks for joining me, Castle. There's no way I could have eaten all of this by myself."

"Good food, good company; I can't complain." A moment of silence reigned before he spoke again. "The apartment's looking good." The last time he'd been there was to help her shift the few things that had been salvaged from her apartment and the number of things she'd been able to pick up since – mostly though just new clothes and new copies of his books.

She nodded. "I've just about got everything unpacked. Thanks for helping me move though, and for you know letting me stay with you."

"It was no trouble. You're always welcome at casa de Castle. I know for a fact, Mother has been missing your cooking ever since you left."

Rolling her eyes, Kate just took another bite of her Peking duck; sure he was just exaggerating on her behalf. Unbeknownst to her, he saw the little rolls of her eyes as well as the small, satisfied smile splitting her lips. He couldn't stop looking at her in his shirt. Before, well, before she'd only been wearing it as a substitute for a pyjama top. But now, she'd obviously _chosen _to wear his shirt. And for some reason that sent a little flare of happiness through him.

* * *

He finished his wine of the sofa, staying after the meal to let his food digest while she flipped between channels on the TV, trying to find something to watch.

"Ooh, they're showing reruns of _Buffy_!"

"We are _not _watching _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_, Castle." After going through practically every channel and not finding anything much better though, she was forced to concede and flick back. "I should probably go and change so I can give you your shirt back-"

"-S'fine," he mumbled, clearly focusing more on her television screen and Sarah Michele Gellar's lack of clothing than what she was saying.

Walking to the door with her though an hour later, pulling his jacket on, he surprised her. "I meant it by the way. You can keep the t-shirt."

Unable to formulate a proper reply, stuttering over words that didn't make any sense when put side by side; Kate looked at him, wondering why exactly he wanted her to keep his shirt. They were friends. Sharing clothes – or rather giving or stealing them… well, it was a _couple-y _thing to do. It made her feel uncomfortable, even when she knew she'd been hanging on to his shirt in the first place because it smelt like coffee and wood, two comforting smells that she'd come to associate with Castle. Smells that made her think about the few weeks she'd spent living with him and his daughter and his mother, bringing a smile to her face even at the end of a long day.

By the time she'd managed to work her way into a thank you, she looked up to find her door already open and Richard Castle disappearing down the hallway, whistling cheerfully to himself.

* * *

**A/N: Pretty short, I know, but I wanted a chance to kind of write some Castle/Beckett friendship stuff, something light-hearted after the finale. Let me know what you think? Like I said in the description, I could be persuaded to extend this in a series of related oneshots about the shirt. I've got a few ideas floating around. So let me know if you're interested in that.**


	2. Just A Run

**A/N: Thank you so much for your responses to the first chapter of this. I'm glad you guys liked it. It's always nice to know what you think.**

**This is really short, but it was the next thing in my head (and it refused to leave!) after the first chapter, and it was something I thought might be a little entertaining. One of you suggested a scene from After the Storm where Kate is wearing Rick's white shirt, so I will probably get round to that next. I'm also thinking about something involving the strip poker scene from season 6. Any other requests/prompts are welcomed. They don't necessarily have to involve the red shirt from Boom, though any I come up with myself are more likely to since that's what inspired the first chapter. I'd love it if this could be a story where you guys are a lot more involved. **

* * *

Her breath came in pants and the ache below her ribs continued to throb as she carried on pushing herself, putting one foot in front of the other and springing forwards into the wind. Her shirt was plastered to her stomach, the strong headwind pushing the material onto her skin and sweat keeping it there. Despite all that, she was enjoying her run. It had been a while since she'd been able to tie up her hair and pull on her sneakers. It was spring now though, and the sun was shining, a glare blinding her regardless of the dark sunglasses sliding on her nose.

Blinking, she was surprised to find herself looking up at the sky with a pair of hands on her arms keeping her from crashing back onto the sidewalk.

"Whoa, are you o- Beckett?"

"Castle?" Kate asked in shock as he righted her onto her feet and stepped backwards, looking relaxed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that bore the symbol of one of the DC superheroes – a sight that was both surprising and predictable. She pushed her sunglasses up onto her head, as if she didn't trust them to be showing her the truth, and pulled her headphones out, letting them dangle from her shoulders. Rick meanwhile put his cell phone in his pocket and ran a hand down his neck, desperately trying not to get hot and bothered by the fact that she had gone running in his shirt and that _his shirt _was currently stuck to her sweat-slicked body, highlighting every single one of her curves. It didn't help matters much that her legs were currently displayed in all their glory in tight, form-fitting leggings. "What are you doing?"

"Just going for a walk," he answered, shrugging before admitting, "I'm a little bit stuck on the latest _Nikki Heat._ And you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Her smirk only deepened as he smiled sheepishly at her.

"Right," Rick nodded. "You were running and then you ran into me."

"The sun blinded me for a moment," she explained, feeling inexplicably defensive, as though it was some kind of crime to accidentally run into your friend and partner on the street and almost mow him own. "Maybe someone should have been watching where they were going instead of looking at their phone."

"Touché." He didn't look at all apologetic, however. If anything, she'd say he looked almost _smug_.

"What?" she asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious. She tried to downplay her glance down her body, pretending she was stretching her leg muscles to stop them cramping and looking down at the floor, only to have her cheeks flame as she realised she was wearing his shirt again. If she hadn't run into Castle, it would have been no cause for concern. She wore the shirt a lot, finding the worn cotton incredibly soft on her skin, and that it felt just right to sleep in. She just didn't want him to know that. In truth, she'd woken that morning to see the shining sun and had just grabbed his shirt because it was at the top of her drawer.

"Nothing, I just don't have writer's block anymore. Gotta go," he told her, dashing away with little more than a goodbye hurriedly called over his shoulder.

Shaking her head, Kate just pushed the buds of her headphones back into her ears and started up running again.

* * *

Back in his loft, Rick sank against his closed office door, grateful that his mother and daughter hadn't been there to see him rush through the living room, clearly flustered. It was a minor miracle he hadn't betrayed anything to Beckett when her body was pressed up against his before he came to his senses and moved away, let alone his mother who knew what he was thinking just from a blink of his eyes and a twitch of his mouth.

Twice now, he'd seen Detective Beckett wearing his shirt. He was beginning to think that she _really _liked his shirt. And aside from trying not to think about exactly what Beckett looked like under the shirt, he was also trying to convince himself not to let any of this shirt stuff go to his head. It wasn't like she had stolen his clothes like a woman who wore her boyfriend's hoody.

Seeing her in the shirt though, sports bra clearly outlined, and toned legs on display, it had given him an idea for where he should go with _Naked Heat_. A sparring session between Don and Nikki seemed perfect. If she happened to be wearing a loose red t-shirt that kept slipping down her shoulder and giving the ex-Navy SEAL enticing glimpses of her shoulder and bra strap, so be it.

* * *

**A/N: So let me know what you think. And if there's something you want to see, let me know! I'm more than willing to accommodate your ideas, so we can get some real variation in this series of oneshots.**

**One final note, I'm not sure what my update schedule will be like at the moment. I'm in the middle of revising for approaching exams at the moment, which is kind of taking up my writing time. Don't hesitate to put in a prompt if you have one though - either on here or on my Tumblr (arc-avenging-fairytale) - because I will get round to it.**


	3. Better On You

**A/N: Thanks again for your reviews on this story. It's really nice to hear what you think. Like I said last chapter, here's a scene set at the end of After the Storm.**

* * *

She wasn't expecting to hear a knock on her door just moments after she had sunk into the scented bubbles filling her bathtub, but there it was, sounding again just as she contemplated ignoring her evening caller. It had been a long few days – the enormity of which she needed some time to process because she finally had a name for the man who had had her mother murdered and even ordered a hit on her, and because she also had finally done the deed with Castle. She'd slept with _Richard Castle_. More than once actually. Counting exactly what had happened the previous two nights as well as earlier that very evening, she had had sex with him _a lot_ more than once.

After so many years working side-by-side with nothing more than salacious flirting and the occasional inappropriate touch or comment, this was inordinately big. She didn't want to stop and analyse it, but really she had to because Kate Beckett just didn't do things like that. It had been a day and already she knew that this was a fully-fledged relationship – the most serious she'd ever been in. Already she knew it was the last one she wanted to be in.

The bath was supposed to be the perfect way for her to have some her-time while she relaxed and tried to soothe her still-forming bruises from her fight with Maddox as well as her sore muscles from the multiple rounds she'd had with Castle in lavender oil. Her body still felt deliciously pliant and sated, despite it having been over half an hour since Rick placed a gentle kiss on her lips after he finished dressing.

Which was why it was such a surprise when she finally opened her front door, covered only by a towel, to find him standing there with his hands behind his back, quite obviously hiding something and looking rather pleased with himself about that fact.

"Castle? What are you doing here? You forget something?"

He smiled at her confusion. Really it was adorable. And totally understandable. He had of course only just left after returning to her apartment with her after her chat with Captain Gates at the precinct.

For a brief moment he was distracted by flashbacks of exactly what they had done after she had reached back and grabbed him in the precinct elevator. Thank _God _no-one else was in there to hear the embarrassingly high-pitched groan come out of his mouth. Just thinking about what could have happened if the elevator had stopped on any of the floors to admit another passenger was enough to almost make him put his hands in front of him and cover his modesty.

He was brought back to the moment by a slight flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye: Kate impatiently tilting her head.

"No, but you did," he replied, pulling his hands out from behind him to reveal what Kate had left behind at the loft in her hurry to escape while he distracted his mother and daughter. He had had every intention of making it back for dinner with Alexis, but the sight of his white shirt still draped over his unmade bed had made him pause, remembering the heavenly way it had draped over Kate's body, flaring at her hips and hanging around her legs.

"Your shirt?" she asked, her brow crinkling as she frowned at him but took the proffered shirt nonetheless, running her hands lovingly over the crisp collar. It had taken her a few moments in the morning to pick out that particular shirt out of the many hung up in his closet. In the end, she picked it over one of his pale blue numbers just because it was easy to slide off the hanger and was unbuttoned enough that she could put it on without much effort.

He nodded, equal affirmation and encouragement.

"I don't understand…"

"Well, it looks so good on you that I can't really wear it anymore," he explained, grinning because he knew she would see right through him even though it was no lie. He knew she would see his actions as him making some sort of possessive claim over her. He had no problem admitting that there was a crowing beast inside his chest, smug with pride at finally hooking up with the woman he had spent the last four years dreaming about. He loved her, and he wanted everyone to know that. Even though he knew it didn't exactly make sense to give her his shirt, a shirt he guessed she would only ever wear with underwear and never in public, thereby ruining his ploy. "You've shown me up."

Rolling her eyes, Kate stepped aside and let the man back into her apartment. His excuse was flimsy, but she accepted it anyway. The shirt _was_ sinfully comfortable, incredibly smooth against her skin. His aroma imbued into the material – his laundry solution, his aftershave and that odd smell she'd only just begun to discover, the one that was all Castle – was just an added bonus.

"You get a chance to shower?"

He had of course, but he shook his head anyway, following as she walked backwards into her bathroom before promptly dropping her towel to display her naked body for a few precious seconds while she replaced the material with his shirt, thankfully leaving the buttons undone.

"I get to keep this one too then?" she enquired, waiting for him to disrobe and get into her claw-footed bathtub.

"Oh, most definitely," he told her, stepping forward to smooth his hands down her sides.

* * *

**A/N: I'm going to have a second chapter at some point linked to this, I think, but I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts on this first part. I'd also like to reiterate the fact that I'm one hundred percent open to requests, so if reading any of the chapters has given you an idea for a scene you'd like to see, or if you already had one, do let me know and I'll write it.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Booty Call

**A/N: This actually isn't the second chapter featuring the white shirt I originally thought of… **

* * *

She trapped the phone between her shoulder and ear, using her hands instead to stir the pasta sauce around the saucepan and stop it from sticking to the sides.

After a moment of listening just to the dial tone, Rick picked up, not even bothering with giving his name.

"I made too much pasta. You wanna come over for dinner?"

"Is this a habit of yours?" he mused, unable to stop grinning however, simply because of the thought that Kate cooked too much food as an excuse to see him. "Double Chinese order, can't finish a pizza, mixed-up grocery delivery…" He rattled off a list, remembering all the times he had been able to have dinner with Beckett while they were still just friends, times when she curiously always had an excess of food.

"Is that a no?" she countered rather than answer.

"Give me ten minutes," he requested, already standing up and saving his work on the latest _Derrick Storm_ book. As soon as he hung up, he shuffled into the bedroom to put some real clothes. Although he didn't think Kate would mind him only wearing a pair of boxers and his _Green Lantern _shirt, he didn't think it would go down so well with the rest of the tenants in her building. Once he was wearing pants and had his wallet in his pocket, he was on his way, only stopping to grab his keys. With Alexis spending the month with her mother in California, it was much easier for him and Kate to meet up with no questions asked, though more often than not they would stay safe and only spend time at her apartment just in case his mother happened to waltz in on them.

After jogging up the stairs inside her building he knocked, assuming a casual position against her doorframe as he waited, crooking one leg in front of the other and crossing his arms over his chest.

"You rang?" he asked as the door swung open and revealed her standing in his shirt, the one he had gifted her just over a week ago, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. It was the third time she had worn the shirt and every time he had barely been able to restrain himself from ripping it apart. He stifled a groan and made sure to keep his eyes from trailing down to stare at her bare legs. He could swear she chose to wear his shirt on purpose, knowing what it did to him.

If anything, she only confirmed his theory when she hauled him into her apartment by a fist curled around the material of his t-shirt before thrusting him back against her front door, on him in seconds and attacking his lips with a passion.

"What about dinner?" he murmured, only getting a disgruntled noise out of her and an impatiently growled reply.

"Later."

Spinning, Rick lifted Kate, securing her legs around his hips and holding her against the door instead, hands under her thighs and inching towards her derrière only to discover quite delightedly that she had forgone underwear. Oddly enough though, the shirt stayed on the entire time, clinging to her sweaty skin even though Rick had persevered with his clumsy fingers to get each button through its respective hole. It stayed on her body as he carried her away from the door, stumbling into her bedroom as she did _that _thing where she curled her tongue around his and simultaneously tugged on the ends of his hair while kneading the muscles of his neck with the base of her palm.

She was still wearing it as she collapsed down onto his chest, muscles losing their ability to keep her upright. It was buttoned up again though when she finally rose, no longer boneless, and trotted out to the kitchen to relight the stove and heat up their dinner. He watched her flit around between the cupboards, re-rolling the sleeves of the shirt up past her elbows to stop them from falling past her hands, finding seasonings and adding them before grabbing plates from one of the higher shelves; getting a teasing flash of the tops of her thighs that made him want to grab her by the hips and hustle her right back to the bedroom.

At the rumble of his stomach however, he sat down in his boxers and took the opportunity to stroke his hand across her back as she approached with plates and pasta bowls, setting one in front of him and the other at the place to his left.

"You don't need to use dinner as an excuse to see me, you know," he said as she took the saucepan of pasta off the stove. "If you want a booty call, I'm more than happy to oblige." He waggled his eyebrows, smirking because he knew exactly what kind of effect he had on Kate Beckett now.

She paused, leaving the pan on the side and instead coming to sit, surprising him as she plonked herself down into his lap. Her arms fell around his shoulders.

She blushed as she admitted, "So I was a bit horny." He grinned with satisfaction, wincing though as she tweaked his ear only to retaliate by shifting her on his lap so he could squeeze her butt. "I thought the…desire would fade a little," she explained after a moment, her features gentling into a reflective gaze and a small smile. All the other relationships she'd been in had never been so intense. Sure the first week or so had been a bit of a whirlwind when she was younger, more naïve and more easily infatuated with a guy, but afterwards it had never taken long for things to settle down into a boring kind of routine. It was even more surprising to her that that hadn't happened with Castle since they had already known each other so long and well.

He knew exactly what she meant. After so many years only able to fantasise and dream about what it would be like to finally have sex with Katherine Beckett, he hadn't been surprised by how earth-shatteringly profound their first time had been and how many rounds they had subsequently had. He did think that in the weeks since though they would have been more sated, more able to take things slowly and really appreciate one another.

"Nothing wrong with a little passion, Beckett," he pointed out, kissing her again and squeezing her side before releasing her so that they might finally eat their dinner. Afterwards there would be time to fall into bed together again, or maybe stop at the couch if the bedroom was too far away. It wouldn't be the first time such things had happened.

She smiled, grabbing the pan again and finally bringing it over to the table to serve Rick with some carbonara. She spooned some into her own pasta bowl and returned the saucepan to the stove before sliding into the seat beside Rick, leaning in towards him so their arms touched, the hairs on her forearms prickling upright at the contact with his warm skin.

Shovelling forkfuls of pasta into his mouth, Rick ran his fingers along her arm as he chewed each mouthful. As goosebumps appeared over every inch of her right arm, he smiled, making his touch even lighter and sending a wave of lust through Kate's body that had her flicking her hooded gaze over him.

One thing was for sure. Beckett's suspension was going to be an action-filled few weeks.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this. Because I had another idea I was originally going to write, there's going to be another one coming soon though for variation it might be a in a couple of chapters time. Thank you so much for reading, and even more to those of you who have taken the time to let me know what you think.**


	5. Changes and Spares

**A/N: Hello everyone! As suggested by a guest reviewer, here's one about that hoody from Veritas. **

* * *

The hoody appeared without her knowledge. One day, she opened her locker in the changing rooms and the only things in there were her workout clothes along with the usual spare pair of trousers and shirt she kept handy. And the next, just days after her night freezing in the woods, there it was, grey and massive – quite clearly belonging to a man. It didn't take a genius to work out that her fiancé had taken it upon himself to put it there; she just didn't know why.

The question simmered away in her mind for a couple of hours – hours she spent alone at her desk and in the break room while Rick beavered away at the chapters Paula had requested.

_Why did she need his hoody? When had he even _worn _that hoody? _

During their entire relationship – even during their friendship and the early days of their partnership – she'd rarely seen Richard Castle wearing a hoody. At work he was always smartly dressed in a stiff-collared shirt and pressed trousers if he happened to neglect his suit jacket. At home, sure he wore jeans and casual t-shirts. But hoodies were scarce in his closet. Rick was the kind of guy who took would wear short sleeves and no jacket right up until the end of October. In his own home, the air condition always kept the loft at the kind of temperature where one could quite happily walk around stark naked and not even shiver. The hoodies he did have were tighter, zipped contraptions he wore on the odd occasion he worked out.

Considering all that, she would hardly have been surprised if it turned out that Rick had bought the large, baggy number just for her. Particularly as he hadn't been able to stop worrying about her ever since her most recent scrape with death at the hands of Vulcan Simmons. The man was like a mother hen, constantly bringing her coffee in bed and laying out warm clothes in the morning, somehow managing to be up and about before her – an oddity since she usually had to drag him out of bed with kisses and the promise of more.

What she did surprise her though, was the thought that he believed she needed the hoody.

He knew her locker at work was only filled with the essentials. Practical spares, clothes of the same nature as whatever she wore to work, as Castle well knew. Rather than question him though, Kate didn't even bring the topic up, distracted as she was by her day of paperwork and the fact that Rick grabbed her the instant she was through the front door, placing goggles over her eyes, wrapping a vest around her and pushing a gun into her hands before dashing away to hide, a game of laser tag beginning between them.

* * *

Rick listened in fear to Lanie's anxious voice, Kate's phone trapped between his and her ears, as she explained that she had pulled a bullet from Vulcan Simmons' body, a bullet that matched the pistol she kept in her bedside table at her apartment. All of a sudden, it made sense for Internal Affairs to be welcomed into Gates' office.

"_Kate, Vulcan Simmons was killed with your gun."_

He watched in horror as his fiancée stepped back away from him, the phone falling away from her face as she met his gaze, silently pleading him to have faith in her.

"How could it be from your gun? You have your gun."

The smallest of smiles graced Kate's face, relief flooding her system as she realised her didn't for one second think that she was guilty of murdering the drug cartel. "That's my back up piece. I have a 40 cal in my safe at home," she explained, growing serious as she realised that someone must have broken into her apartment to get that gun and frame her.

"You're being set up."

She nodded, knowing in her heart as well as in her mind that the one person who would want to do that would be the man behind her mother's murder.

The sound of Gates' office door opening drew both of their attention and they turned to watch the head of IA stride purposefully out, their Captain just steps behind, trying to dissuade him of his chosen course of action.

It took Rick all of five seconds to work out what was going to happen. Marcus Donovan was going to come in and slap a pair of cuffs on Kate, and Hell would freeze over before he let that happen. He knew what that was like – to be set up for murder, arrested by your own people, for your friends and colleagues to lose faith in your innocence. And there was no way, absolutely no way, he would let that happen to her.

"Kate, you have to go," he hissed, grabbing her by the arms and hustling her towards the second door into the breakroom. "You have to go now. They're not coming to ask nicely what happened; they're going to arrest you. You have to leave. Go. Take the stairs, meet me at the swings as soon as you can." He kept eye contact the entire time, begging her to follow his instructions. She had to if she knew what was good for her.

* * *

Kate hurried down the length of the bullpen with her head down and her hair shielding her face. As soon as she reached the stairs, she began to quicken her pace until she was running, heading up rather than down the stairs however. Rick was right, she needed to leave, but she also needed to make sure that people wouldn't see her face. And the first thing she could think of that would help her was that grey hoody he'd left hanging in her locker.

She stripped off her leather jacket while entering the changing room beside the gym, balling it up and throwing it into the bottom of her locker without thinking as soon as she had managed to stop her hands shaking enough to open it. She left her cell phone with it, knowing that Internal Affairs would use it to track her. The hoody was too big, arms falling down past her slender wrists and covering her hands, an annoyance at times as she kept having to push the sleeves back whenever she needed to open a door in the stair well. It was goof cover though. Only her hair poked out of the hood, and if she bowed her head slightly, even that wasn't too noticeable.

The smell of her husband and their washing formula deeply embedded in the fabric was comforting as she walked the streets, deciding it wasn't safe for her to take a cab. She felt vulnerable out in the open still, though the homely scent helped some with stopping that from overpowering her. It kept her panic fraying at her edges instead of it shooting straight into the centre of her chest and paralysing her.

Around about now, she expected that a manhunt would have been launched. A call would have been put out to every single police station in the city, and it wouldn't be long before her picture made it onto the news if they didn't find her soon. She had to stay out of sight, she knew. But she also needed to meet Rick.

Best off the street, where her large hoody was probably drawing too much attention from the suited business men and women dressed in high-end, designer clothing, Kate swiftly entered the first average looking diner she could find. A diner where luckily she could take her seat, have one coffee and not be bothered again. As the waitress placed her coffee and receipt on the table, Kate felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she remembered that all of her cash had been safely zipped in the inside pocket of her leather jacket. Hood still up, shielding her face, she patted down the pockets of the hoody, smiling as she heard the tell-tale jangle of loose change.

After paying the small price for her coffee, Kate carefully pulled out the entire stash, counting easily over a hundred in dollar bills.

_Oh, Rick, you sweet, sweet man. _

As she stared at the small bundle of notes, kept together neatly rolled within an elastic band, it hit her why the hoody had appeared in her locker just days after her undercover operation. He hadn't given her the hoody for extra warmth. He hadn't given it to her so she could have a piece of him at work with her. He hadn't given it to her because he didn't think she was covered up enough. _He'd given it to her in case something went wrong again. _

As well as the cash, the hoody's deep pocket contained a handheld torch (and spare batteries), ibuprofen and some high energy bars. In total, it didn't amount to much, but she couldn't help but be touched by his forethought, by his fiercely protective nature. She _really _loved this man. She had to get to their swings and tell him just how much.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I know that having that stuff in the pockets might be a little bit ridiculous since they can't be zipped up or anything… But the idea came to me while I was writing and I rolled with it. It made me a lot more pleased with how this chapter turned out if I'm honest. Let me know what you thought!**


	6. Gifted in an Emergency

**A/N: shanilivne asked for one about the blue/grey shirt Beckett wears in 6x08 (A Murder is Forever) since one of the writers revealed that it was a gift from Castle. So here it is. This scene isn't set **_**in **_**6x08 but a little before it. I hope you all like it regardless. **

* * *

Beckett sighed for the third time as she continued searching through the contents of Rick's closet and the clothes within it that belonged to her.

"No good," she muttered as she discarded yet another shirt that just did not match her pants. If she didn't find something soon, she would be in danger of getting caught in traffic. Being late for work would _not _go down well with Iron Gates. She groaned to herself, flinging her pink and purple checked shirt back into the closet in frustration because while it looked okay with her pale grey pants; it just didn't look as good as she knew her light blue shirt would have. The only trouble was that that particular shirt had been the victim of their especially passion-filled night in DC when Rick had flown in to surprise her. Had she not lost some of the buttons, it would have been a simple task to sew them all back on. The hole that had appeared at the back of the collar though, that was another matter altogether. A matter that regrettably sent the shirt into the recycling.

Conceding defeat, Kate stripped off the pants and retrieved the simpler pair of black slacks she'd worn the previous day from the laundry bin, grumbling all the while. Her displeasure continued in the car on the way to the precinct, silently simmering with the odd dirty look thrown over at Rick.

"Do you wanna tell me what it is I've done, Kate?"

Shaking her head, Kate ignored his question, knowing she was being ridiculous. Just because Rick had ripped her shirt open in his exuberance, didn't make it his fault that she didn't have a shirt that went with the trousers she had originally planned to wear. She could hardly blame her fiancé for being excited to see her, not when she was just as affected by him as he was by her. Despite that knowledge however, she couldn't help being irritated.

Her day did not improve, and her frustration with Rick grew as he began distracting her from her paperwork, trying to convince her that they should have their wedding in space. Finally, she had had enough. Her chair scraped along the floor as she pushed it back, responding to Rick's questioning gaze with, "I'm going to see Lanie."

* * *

"Girl, if those are the same pants as yesterday, I'ma have to smack you."

Kate followed Lanie's gaze down her trousers, which were with hindsight too creased to be accepted as only having only just been pulled off the hanger in the closet, and tugged uselessly at them before emitting a sigh and letting the door she'd been holding fall closed behind her. Walking further into the room, she watched as Lanie continued to look into her microscope, minutely changing the zoom every few seconds with practised hands.

Finally when she was stood beside her best friend, Lane asked, "So why are you wearing yesterday's clothes-"

"-Castle," Kate replied, her voice filled with bite and exasperation.

"What has that man done now?"

She would have appreciated it if Lanie could draw her attention away from her work just for a moment instead of distractedly murmuring everything while examining whatever was on the slide under her microscope. She almost asked, before deciding that it was probably better she was left ignorant.

"He ruined the shirt I wanted to wear-"

Lanie glanced up from the microscope to inspect Kate's shirt, checking she wasn't wearing the exact same clothes as she had the previous morning.

"-so I couldn't wear the pants I was going to. And I was running late already – no thanks to him-" Lanie widened her eyes at her friend, a grin spreading over her face before Kate shut down that idea, saying, "Not like that. I'd hardly be mad if he made me late for work because of _that. _No, he takes forever in the shower. For some reason, I let him get in there before me."

"Could always have just shared the shower," Lanie remarks, smirking at Kate.

Kate smiled a little at that, resisting the impulse however to point out that had she shared her morning shower with Castle she probably would have been even later. One round had yet to prove fully satisfying for either she or Rick.

* * *

Back in the bullpen, Rick sat to the side of Esposito's desk, idly throwing a baseball he'd discovered in one of the desk drawers up into the air before catching it and repeating the process over again.

"So, what's up with Beckett this morning? You guys having a row?"

Catching the ball, Rick paused to answer before he threw it back up towards the ceiling. "You know, I have no idea."

"What do you mean you have no idea? You must have done something," Esposito replied.

"What have you done recently?" Ryan asked, setting down his pen to join the conversation.

Castle shrugged.

"Okay, so if you haven't done anything, when was the last time you treated her to dinner out or surprised her with flowers or brought her breakfast in bed?"

Rick thought back, trying hard to remember and finding that nothing immediately sprang to mind. Taking his silence as an answer, Esposito and Ryan both folded their arms.

"There's your answer."

Setting the baseball down on Esposito's paperwork, Castle stood and put his chair back where it belonged beside his fiancée's desk. "Think you can cover for me for an hour or two?" He had an idea of what he could do, but he needed some time to get it sorted.

"Just make sure you bring us back something too," Esposito requested, already thinking about glazed donuts and pizza.

"Thanks guys," Rick said, ignoring Espo's request, before dashing over to the elevator.

Out on the street, he hailed a cab before asking the driver to take him to Fifth Avenue, where the instant he was out of the car he hurried off to _Saks_, heading straight to the women's section. He browsed, flicking through dresses and tops, picturing each one on Kate's frame in order to decide whether he thought it would suit her and whether she would like it, before he came across what he hoped would be the perfect surprise gift.

He wasn't a complete idiot. He had noticed how long Kate had stood before the closet that morning going through her shirts, and he also knew she had ended up putting on her front-pleat trousers from out of the washing hamper. The shirt in his hand was a lovely shade, some sort of cross between a green-y-blue and grey, made from fine silk with a shimmering quality. It was designed to be loose-fitting, something he was sure would go down well since Kate had become so enamoured with wearing his shirts, since they quite literally drowned her figure.

He didn't even look at the price tag, just selected the right size – thanking his lucky stars that the store had size fours left in stock – before taking it over to one of the tills and sliding his credit card across the surface right after he handed over the hanger.

Once back at the precinct, he rushed back to Kate's desk, aware that she would probably be returning from the morgue any second if she hadn't already, and swiftly opened the top drawer to stow the black and white paper bag inside. It was an effort to close the drawer afterwards without crushing the bag and the gift inside, but he managed it, cutting it fine mere moments before his fiancée appeared at the top of the stairs to their floor. His breath was heavy – from running and the slight panic that came with the pressure of successfully hiding his surprise from here – but he masked it by standing up to greet her, an action which brought a confused and suspicious look to her face.

He managed to make it less than five minutes before growing impatient with her and the fact that she'd yet to actually open her drawer. He'd expected the action to happen quite quickly, the need for a pen perhaps necessitating it, but apparently she already had a few working ones littering the desktop.

"Have you got a pad of paper I can borrow?" he asked, already knowing that she indeed had a notepad in her desk drawer that often got used for case-related notes. "I seem to have forgotten mine this morning and I just got an idea for-"

He was cut off from saying more, the explanation of his made-up 'idea' not really needed since Kate already knew that Rick was forever thinking of cases and situations that might befall Nikki Heat, by her shifting her chair to the side slightly and telling him, "In the drawer."

He barely reined in his sigh. The plan had been for her to open the drawer, but even the simplest plans could go awry, he knew. He muttered a thank you and carefully eased the draw open – fear of dislodging the bag inside gentling his actions.

She hadn't been watching him but the flash of black and white – so clearly out of the place in the drawer that was usually empty enough to always show her the woodwork inside – drew her attention and she looked up, glancing at the bag before locking eyes with him.

"Rick?"

He shrugged, happy to pretend that he had no involvement in the appearance of the bag. He kept his lips sealed to that end, though of course he couldn't quite stop a grin from appearing as she took hold of the bag with slow, precise movements and never once looked away from his face. Tearing her gaze away finally, she pulled apart the handles in order to glance inside, gasping as she saw the beautiful teal-coloured silk neatly folded at the bottom of the bag. Reverent hands lifted it out, fingers smoothing over the material and relishing the soft feel of it, already imagining what it would be like on her body. It wasn't her pale blue shirt, but it was still a perfect match for the grey pants she had intended on wearing. She noticed the price tag of her shirt, but didn't bother raising the issue with her fiancé who, despite his silence, she knew had bought the shirt. Theyskens Theory wasn't cheap, but it also wasn't the first expensive thing Rick had bought her.

"Thank you, Rick. I love it." Her murmured words brought an even bigger smile to his face, the smile that made his eyes crinkle with happiness, the smile that she always found irresistible. Glancing at Gates' office once, she then risked a kiss – just a soft peck between the two of them lest someone complain about them being unprofessional. They knew from experience how much the boys could complain about 'walking in on Mom and Dad getting it on.' Luckily for them, the boys were in the breakroom at that point. There was nothing to stop Kate getting up and placing a post-it note on Ryan's desk, explaining she'd taken her paperwork home, before the two of them disappeared for the afternoon.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you shanilivne for asking to see something about this shirt. Also, thank you everybody for reading and especially those of you who've been reviewing. Next up is a request from lutheranapriljones, and then I'm going to be doing the second additional idea I had for the white shirt from Always. I've also got another one featuring the red t-shirt that will be appearing soon. **

**A quick note about the previous chapter: Thank you everyone who accepted my little headcanon about the hoody. When I said it might be ridiculous for those things to be in the pockets, I just meant that in the sense that the pockets don't have zips so the stuff could have easily fallen out and therefore wouldn't be a safe place for all that money etc. Anyways, I'm glad so many of you liked my little idea anyway. **

**As always, thank you for reading. I'd love it if you'd let me know what you think. And don't be afraid to prompt something!**


	7. I'm a Doctor, Not an Escalator

**A/N: This chapter was requested by lutheranapriljones. I hope you guys like it!**

* * *

Adjusting the knot on his tie, Rick scrutinised the blue and silver stripes to make sure they were at a forty five degree angle exactly. The reflection of the clock hanging behind him told him he still had about ten minutes before Beckett arrived, though the promotional party for _Naked Heat _wouldn't start until six thirty, half an hour later. That didn't mean he wasn't nervously fussing over his appearance, however. This was the first public engagement in a while that he'd actually forgone his roguish appearance for. His jaw and chin were clean shaven, his hair blow-dried and brushed into a kind of flat, meek submission he usually only achieved through hair gel, and his suit had been cleaned and pressed especially for the occasion.

Prepped and pristine, he dropped his hands and stepped back, taking one last look in the mirror before going out to wait for his muse in the living room, where he'd be able to open the door for her. He checked his watch a few times, the action growing more frequent as the hands ticked towards six and he didn't hear a knock on his front door. Confused, he wandered over to the door and poked his head out, looking left and right down the empty hallway before his eyes locked onto the floor display of the elevator, which showed it was apparently on the way up.

_That must be her_, he thought as it stopped on the top floor, but when the doors opened, it was not Kate Beckett who walked out. Instead, a Chinese takeaway delivery boy nodded at him, coming to his door with what had to be dinner for Alexis. He paid for the food and left it on the kitchen counter, shouting for his daughter.

When Alexis appeared, cheeks rosy from sprinting down the stairs and skidding into the kitchen in just her socks, she frowned in confusion.

"I thought Detective Beckett was meant to be meeting you here…"

"She was," Rick replied distractedly as he checked his watch yet again before pulling his phone out on the off chance that he'd somehow missed a text to let him know Beckett was running late or had changed her mind or something. He frowned again, but gave her a few more minutes, knowing all the while that Gina would probably berate him for being late arriving. Their rekindled relationship didn't stop her from doing her job in the slightest.

* * *

At quarter past six he stopped waiting and decided that he would go to Kate. The entire drive to her apartment he worried that something may have happened to her so much so that his relief at hearing her laughter from the other side of her door pulled him up short for a moment.

Curiosity had him pressing his ear up against the wood and a frown took over his face as he heard multiple voices before her laughter rang out again. _Was there a man there with her?_ He knocked quickly, balling his hands into fists as he heard her footfalls on her hardwood floors.

The door swung open revealing her there in nothing more than a pair of tiny shorts and the baggy red t-shirt he'd told her months and months ago that she could keep.

"Oh, shit, I completely forgot," she exclaimed the second his attire registered with her and reminded her that she was supposed to be going to the _Naked Heat _release party with him. Before he could say a thing, he had dashed back through her apartment to the bedroom.

"Guess I'll just come on in then," he mumbled to himself, shutting the door behind him and going to take a seat on her couch. He realised then that the voices he'd been hearing were coming from her TV and that Beckett had been watching _Star Trek_. That intrigued him, Beckett watching _Star Trek _– the original series, no less – since it had aired before she was even born. Who knew that his muse was a sci-fi fan.

He continued watching where she left off as he waited for her. She popped out a few times to tell him she would only be ten minutes maximum and she was sorry she'd been distracted, but for the most part he was left to watch _Friday's Child, _incidentally one of his ten favourite episodes.

He was so engrossed in the episode, saying the lines at the same time as the characters, that he didn't notice Kate come out of her bedroom, dressed in a brand new ivy-green dress with her hair loosely curled and pulled neatly away from her face with the help of a few hair grips.

"There's a cave in there. Probably the only shelter around here," Castle recited along with Kirk.

"Oh, my favourite line is coming up," she said, her sudden speech surprising him and making him jump slightly, head whirling round to her so fast he probably got a crick in the neck. "Look, I'm a doctor, not an escalator!"

A grin cleaved Rick's face in two. "You really like _Star Trek, _don't you?"

"Yeah," Kate replied slowly. "There something wrong with that?"

_No, it just makes me even more attracted to you._

Instead of speaking his thoughts, Rick shrugged and arranged his face into a neutral expression. "Just a bit unexpected."

An awkward silence settled over them, a silence that only broke when she apologised again for forgetting about the party. "I had a shower and figured I'd just let me hair dry naturally, so I put the TV on while I waited and then found _Friday's Child _– which is my favourite episode-" He did a double take at that. Could Kate Beckett be any more perfect? "And I just lost track of time."

He waved away her excuses. "Don't worry about it. Shall we?" he asked, gesturing to the door with his hand and letting her lead the way out. He let her slide into the back of his town car first too, only just remembering once he was safely seated and belted into his own seat to send Gina a text to apologise for his lateness and let her know he was on his way now.

"So _Friday's Child _is your number one top _Star Trek _episode?" he asked, pocketing his phone and turning his attention onto the beautiful woman sat at his side who was sadly not his date for the evening.

"It's underrated," she replied, prepared to argue her reasons only for him to nod in agreement with her. "I didn't know Richard Castle was a _Star Trek _man."

"What can I say? I love good sci-fi."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I profusely apologise for being really lazy recently and not responding to your reviews. I'm making a renewed effort from now on. I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you thought, and thanks for reading!**


	8. Fooling Your Mind

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. I've had a few busy weeks, coming home from university and then having to have a massive sort through the entire contents of my room before moving everything out of it because it's being re-carpeted. I'm literally going to be sleeping on the sofa this weekend. Anyways, I'll shut up about my life and let you guys read. **

* * *

"Okay, Miss, that's everything out of the van," Robert, the kind man she'd hired to help move all her furniture 226 miles to DC, said, sliding down the back door of the moving truck. The slam of it echoed down the street, as Kate smiled her thanks.

She'd originally intended on leaving all her furniture back in her New York apartment, or at least putting it into storage, and just buying new stuff for her DC apartment; but Rick had, of course, known a guy who did cross-country moves and the idea of having the comfort of home surrounding her in the strange, foreign apartment had appealed. It had taken she and Rick two weeks to get everything she was taking boxed up and ready to go, and Robert and his son were then sent on ahead to get everything to DC.

"You need any help shifting things around?"

Shaking her head, Kate answered, "I'm fine. You and Dylan have been great, Robert – couldn't have done it without you. Why don't you just go on home and enjoy a drink on me?" She pressed some notes into the movers hand and curled his fingers around it before sending him on his way and waving once the man was up in the front cab beside his son and starting the engine up.

Drawing her baggy cardigan tight around her body, Kate waited until the large van was out of sight before turning and traversing the paved walkway to the front door. Inside the building, she sighed at the collection of boxes and plastic wrapped furniture that met her sight. At least unpacking would give her something to do, however. It took her an hour alone to shift the furniture into place and unwrap it, leaving the plastic strewn over the floor while she began sorting through the boxes and putting them into the appropriate rooms. With her crockery and cooking still sealed in one of the boxes cluttering the apartment, and her refrigerator yet to be stocked, she took a break and called for a pizza from one of the numerous takeaway menus that had been slid under the front door while the property was vacant.

An ordinary Margherita arrived in under twenty minutes and after paying the delivery boy, she dropped down onto the couch, placing the pizza box on the coffee table and flipping it open. Habit had her ordering a large, a large she would usually share with Rick, a large that she was never going to be able to finish all by herself. Looking at it, perfectly sliced, she didn't think it was possible to feel any more alone.

Of course, Rick had offered to accompany her, but in her mind it hadn't made any sense. His help would have been useful, certainly. His company would have been appreciated. But she was starting her training with the Attorney General's office in two days, which would have made his trip to DC quite short-lived. And on top of that, Rick was due to begin his summer book tour in a few weeks too.

In the dimming light of the autumn evening, Kate chewed her pizza half-heartedly before shoving the remainders of the pizza into the fridge.

Locking the front door and pulling the chain across, she moved through the rooms, checking windows, before making her way into the bedroom and sitting dejectedly atop the bed. What she'd unpacked was minimal, and in the dark particularly the bedroom looked empty and lifeless, the double bed suddenly far too large for just her alone. She knew that even though she wouldn't be sharing the space with Rick, she was far too used to his habit of spreading out and hogging the covers to end up sleeping any other way than perilously close to falling off the edge of the mattress.

She allowed herself a moment of melancholy before rising again and shuffling into the bathroom to get ready for bed. After brushing her teeth and wiping her makeup from her face, Kate returned to the bedroom and grabbed one of the unpacked bags on the floor to find some pyjamas and the lotion she usually rubbed into her skin before sleeping.

A happy smile lit up her face as she unzipped the leather holdall and, right at the top of it, encountered a stiff-collared, white shirt neatly folded. As she unfolded it and held the cotton up to her nose, inhaling the scent of the laundry detergent Rick normally used, Kate found herself missing her fiancé more than ever. Stripping off her cardigan and the t-shirt underneath, she pulled the shirt on instead, remembering the first time she'd worn this particular shirt.

The tails of the shirt had grazed the tops of her thighs as she'd walked, carrying two still-steaming cups of coffee into his bedroom. The hardwood floors had been unusually warm beneath her bare feet – warmed by a combination of the sunlight streaming through the windows and the high-tech air conditioning unit that always kept the loft at a comfortable temperature. Her hair was a mess, curls flying in all directions after she got completely soaked sitting out in a storm. His hands continuously running through it all night probably hadn't helped it air dry neatly. But still he looked at her like a goddess at dawn approaching on leisurely legs out of some azure surf. Completely entranced by every step towards him she took.

The memory brought warmth to her chest. It had been the reason of course she had furtively taken the shirt from his side of the closet while Rick was helping her pack. He would probably lament the loss of his shirt, claim that he had planned to take that with him on his book tour, but in the end he'd end up gloating over her taking his shirt with her for comfort.

Being wrapped in the material wasn't quite the same as being ensconced in one of his bear hugs or sleeping in his arms, but it was as close as she was going to get.

Grabbing just a pair of soft pyjama shorts from the bag, Kate left her other clothes carefully piled on top of the dresser beside the door, before sitting back on the edge of the bed to pull the shorts on after rubbing in her lotion. The only other thing she did before crawling up the bed and sliding under the sheets was make sure to leave her phone on the bedside table to charge.

The iPhone beeped, screen lighting up as it began to receive electricity to reveal a wallpaper of Rick pouting at her that he'd most likely set weeks ago without her knowing until it was too late. Picking the phone up, she tapped out a short message before flopping back down on the pillow.

_I miss you._

Under the covers, she allowed the scent of lavender from Rick's washing powder and the lingering smell of his aftershave to fool her mind into thinking he was right there in the bed until she fell asleep, whence he ended up playing a starring role in her dream anyway.

* * *

**A/N: So that's the other white shirt related idea I had. I've got one about the red shirt coming up next, followed by a chapter for a prompt from Manxkid and then a sequel to the previous chapter. I've got a couple of prompts from other people in the works, but I'll get around to them as soon as possible. Just keep on sending them in!**


	9. Returning Home

**A/N: Sorry, sorry! I know I kept you guys waiting a while for this one so I'll just shut up now and let you read. Sorry again though!**

* * *

Makeup. Toothbrush. Hairbrush. Deodorant. Perfume. Contraception.

The mental list went on, each item getting checked off as Kate grabbed it and carefully packed it into the weekend bag she had up on the bed, the one she was packing since Rick had invited her to spend the night at the Loft now that his mother and daughter had left for Europe (Alexis' trip to see her mother cut short by one of Meredith's jobs) and he had the place to himself. She'd spent the night there before, during the storm, but this time was different. He'd _invited_ her and she couldn't help the tiny thrill that ran through her at that thought. It threatened to spill out of her as she picked up the last of her toiletries, makeup removing wipes, and deposited the pack securely in the remaining space at the bottom of the bag.

With the essentials taken care of, she turned her mind to clothes and underwear, leaving the bag to investigate the contents of her closet, the majority of which was unfortunately taken up with smart pants, shirts and blazers for work with the odd waistcoat thrown in for good measure. Sighing, she pushed the formal workwear to one side and began going through her jeans pair by pair in search of the some skinny-leg ones that weren't too worn.

It was once she had found a pair and thrown them onto the bed that her real problems began, however. What should she wear? More importantly, what would Castle _expect_ her to wear? Kate chewed on the tip of her thumb as she thought desperately; mentally testing every top she could think of with how she expected Rick to react. Frantic, she pulled out flowing camisoles, casual checked shirts, peplum-hemmed items, patterned vests, cutaway tops, lace tops – practically everything she owned – unable to decide whether any of them were suitable for the occasion.

If she didn't know that it would bring too many unanswerable questions, she would have been more than tempted to call Lanie for assistance. If she wasn't keeping this whole thing with him a secret, her best friend would have been a godsend in helping her find something that was casual enough for just going over to his apartment and somehow sexy at the same time. But there was no way she'd be able to explain her outfit dilemma without Lanie knowing that she was hoping to impress a man, and there was also no way she would buy the fact that Kate had given up on trying to win over Castle. It was enough to make her actually consider calling Rick and asking him what he wanted her to wear. She half expected him to turn up on her doorstep anyway - but unfortunately for her, he did not. Nor did he send around a box with a cocktail dress as he had the first time they went undercover together.

Scowling, Kate threw her cell phone onto the bed before the temptation to ask for advice won out. If she didn't know better she'd say she was actually flustered – but Kate Beckett just wasn't easily rattled. She didn't get ruffled or nervous before a date, not usually anyway. Why was this, picking an outfit, so hard? It was just Castle, it wasn't like she had to entice or seduce him – he was _already_ into her. But that was the crux of her predicament wasn't it? _It was Castle. _It was a man she really cared about, a man she _loved_, who she wanted to have a _real _relationship with instead of one she knew was never going to go anywhere. And that was where the nerves were coming from.

She groaned as she turned away from the wardrobe and paced, wondering what on earth she was supposed to do. She could hardly turn up at the Loft in just her jeans and the ratty, faded NYPD hoody she'd thrown on that morning. He probably wouldn't care, but baggy and old, there was nothing sexy about it. Throwing her hands up in the air, Kate decided to just forget about what she would wear and turn her attention to planning what she would wear to bed – an even worse quandary.

"Might as well just call him and cancel the whole thing," she muttered dejectedly as she surveyed the contents of her underwear drawer and bemoaned the absence of anything exciting. Staying well-stocked in the special-occasion-lingerie-department had hardly been a top priority in the aftermath of her shooting or in her following singleton months.

As she pulled open the drawer housing her pyjamas, Kate was hit with memories of cheery whistling and roving eyes, bringing a wide smirk to her lips and a plan to the forefront of her mind.

* * *

The door swung open quickly – so quickly she suspected he might have already been waiting for her on the other side – to reveal Castle stood on the threshold, shuffling from foot to foot.

"Kate!" he exclaimed, eyes lighting up as a nervous smile broke out on his face. Before she knew it, his lips were on hers – a greeting kiss that made him smile wider because they were alone and she was his girlfriend and he could do that now, kiss Beckett just because he wanted to. "Come on in." He gave her a dopey grin, clearly so happy to see her that he failed to realise he hadn't moved his hand from the open door, leaving no room for her to slip past him.

"You might want to move your hand there, Stud," she teased, releasing the tight grip of one of her hands from her bag to point. His eyes tracked the movement until he was looking at his own hand, at which point he glanced sheepishly at her before pulling his arm away and letting her past before closing the door behind her.

"I've just been whipping up some paella, it's almost done but you can go ahead and put your bag in the bedroom, unpack if you want, first."

Before she could speak he dashed into the kitchen, so she went and stowed her bag away, noting that Castle's bedroom looked tidy and polished, as though he'd spent the day cleaning in preparation of her visit. The thought made her smile as she left the bag just inside the en suite bathroom and removed her shoes, leaving them behind in the bedroom as she walked back out to join him for dinner.

Despite her absent shoes, he must have heard her come out – maybe the shuffle of her socks on his hardwood floors? – for he called out to ask whether she would like some wine to accompany the food, holding aloft a bottle of red as well as a bottle of white when he span around to face her.

"Look at that," he murmured, smiling softly. "Kate Beckett with her hair down. Not even wearing any heels."

She shot him a flat look, hiding her urge to laugh with a roll of her eyes and a deflection as she countered, "Well, what about you in that plaid shirt. Where did the pressed pants and crisp collars go, huh?"

"Funnily enough I wear them and then I see you and you take them off of my body, do plenty of other delicious things to me I might add, and then when I come to my senses again I find you've stolen them."

* * *

"I didn't know you could cook so well, Castle," Kate said as she handed him her plate to put in the dishwasher before grabbing her wine glass and downing the dregs left in it. "Where'd you get the recipe?"

"Online," he answered with a shrug, placing the last few things in the dishwasher and setting it. Job done, he took Kate by the hand and led the way through to his bedroom, pausing to ask in confusion, "Where'd you put your bag?"

"Oh, well most of the stuff is just toiletries, so I put it in the bathroom. I'll just go and…" She let the sentence trail off, already slowly stepping away from him and in the direction of his en suite. Sealing the door behind her, Kate leaned back against it and closed her eyes, feeling the pound of her racing heartbeat in her ears as well as her chest. Why was she so nervous about this? She stifled a groan – knowing Castle would probably hear it and barrel in thinking she'd fainted or something – and ignored the jittery feeling in all of her limbs, treating the task of changing as something clinical with a series of precise steps to be followed. Finally, she could delay no longer however. Stepping out into the lion's den, her eyes immediately alighting on Rick sat in bed apparently waiting for her with a book in his hands.

At the sound of the door opening, he glanced up and his jaw dropped at the sight of her.

"Oh, that's hot," he mumbled, utterly entranced as Kate switched off the bathroom light and moved towards the bed wearing a pair of shorts so small only an inch of them was visible below the hem of his red t-shirt. He had some fond memories of her in that shirt, it seemed right, however, that it was returning home. "So hot."

"Yeah?"

"You say something, Kate?" he mumbled.

Kate smirked at that, at the fact that he was so taken with her appearance that he seemed almost unaware of the words that had been tripping off his tongue and his book sliding out of his fingers and falling onto the floor.

* * *

**A/N: So…thoughts?**

**Next up is Manxkid's prompt. I'm pledging to get it up quicker than this chapter.**

**Thanks for reading! And thank you everyone for your reviews last chapter!**


End file.
